Thursday, September 17, 2009

Tavern Tables: Games of Chance

Making your way down the short series of steps that lead to the tavern’s sunken gaming area, you enter the throng of gamblers. All around you is the sound of shuffled cards, clattering dice, clicking tiles, and - of course - the tinkling of coin. Through the lingering haze of pipe-weed and smoldering taveesh resin, your eyes catch a glimpse at the games being played on the stained, felt-covered tables placed about the gaming pit. With a hand firmly wrapped about your money pouch, you take a seat at a nearby table and signal the games’ master that you’re ready to play.

Quick and Dirty Gambling TableThere will come a time when a player wants to spend the evening sitting at the gaming table rather than pillaging forgotten tombs. This isn’t a problem if the rest of the players are also keen on a night of R & R, but when the rest of the party wants to go exploring, it helps to have a quick and easy way of determining the gambling character’s luck at the tables. Rather than play out the process, have the gambler state how much he or she is willing to risk at the tables (known as the character’s “stake”) and roll on the table below. If the character wishes, he or she may cheat, which adds a +20 modifier to all rolls made on to the table below, but also increases the chance that they’re caught.

Who's to Blame

Despite having never been a professional adventurer, Michael Curtis has nonetheless deciphered cryptic writings, handled ancient maps and texts, ridden both a camel and an elephant, fallen off a mountain, participated in a mystical rite, and discovered the resting places of lost treasures. He can be contacted at poleandrope @ gmaildotcom